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Jakarta, Indonesia
The Dutch East India Company arrived in Java in the late
sixteenth century and constructed a walled city, Batavia, near
Jakarta Bay which served Dutch trading activities for the next
three centuries. The Dutch altered the cultural and ethnic fabric
of Jakarta by bringing in non-Javanese slaves from present day
Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Japan, who were followed by migrants from
Europe, Arabia, India, and China. The Dutch began building
infrastructure, beginning with a series of canals and urban
railways.
Jakarta was occupied by Japanese forces in 1942, and in
1945, after independence, it was chosen as the capital city of
Indonesia. United Nations estimates put the 1995 population of
Jakarta at 11.5 million people, a dramatic increase from only
530,000 in 1930.
Since the colonial period, Jakarta inhabitants have been
engaged in non-agrarian activities and thus depend on imports for
94% of their food supply. Trade is the most important economic
activity, while industries have had some difficulties growing in
Jakarta compared to many other Asian cities.
Housing is considered to be one of the most serious problems in
Jakarta due to the rapid population growth and the need to
constantly replace temporary housing. Jakarta has an annual
demand of approximately 200,000 units. The government has
addressed this problem with programmes like the Kampung
Improvement Programme, which seeks to improve public facilities
such as water supplies, communal bathing and shower facilities,
and roads.
The current piped system of drinking water is ineffective,
therefore, 80% of Jakarta inhabitants use the underground water
which has become steadily depleted. In low-lying North Jakarta,
groundwater depletion has caused serious land subsidence, making
the area more vulnerable to flooding and allowing sea water from
the Java Sea to seep into the coastal aquifers.
Jakarta's environment has been deteriorating rapidly due
greatly to the lack of a waterborne sewerage system.
Furthermore, private transportation has increased faster than any
other transport mode and calls for large investments of capital
and scarce land to accommodate its growth.
In 1970 the Governor of Jakarta declared the "city closed."
This policy continues to take effect, and requires all migrants
into the city to produce identification, disclose their
destination and guarantee their departure from the city.
At the same time, squatter areas have been cleared, and random
identity checks implemented.
In addition to discouraging migrants from coming to Jakarta,
the Government sought to deal with the central city's population
surplus through transmigration. A programme of decentralization
aimed to channel new residents, industries and office complexes
towards the east and west, where the environment was more
conducive to growth.
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